Renderings courtesy of Eskew Dumez Ripple and the LSU AgCenter.
U R BAN OASE S
A New Welcome for Burden
INSPIRED BY THE SOUTHERN ARCHITECTURAL TRADITION, THE MASTER PLAN FOR THE BURDEN CENTER’S NEW WELCOME CENTER IS A WORK OF SUSTAINABILITY AND INNOVATION By Caroline Alberstadt
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sk some of the citizens of Baton Rouge about the Burden Museum and Gardens, and the response might be “that place with some gardens and little cabins?”. The picturesque locale, right at the hcenter of the city’s busiest corridor, is the focus of the latest efforts by the Burden Foundation Board of Directors and the LSU AgCenter, who hope to not only correct this limited perception, but also to go a step further, improving the visibility of the complex and expanding its usefulness to the social and cultural fabric of the city. A new welcome center, designed by award-winning New Orleans-based architects Eskew Dumez Ripple (EDR) in collaboration with renowned local landscape architects, Carbo Landscape Architecture, invites the public to take another look.
Nodding to yesterday, looking out towards tomorrow
You’d be forgiven for missing the center’s entrance as you zoom off I-10 down Essen Lane, driving right past the 440-acre site located in the heart of the city. Once rural farmland, the acreage was donated by the Burden Family to LSU over fifty years ago to create a garden oasis aimed at highlighting the best practices of good stewardship over the rich natural environment of our state. The current Burden Museum and Gardens site is the realization of the vision of Steele Burden, one of the original benefactors, featuring formal gardens at Windrush, the LSU Rural Life Museum, numerous agrarian buildings relocated to the site from historical properties around the region, an interactive learning and exhibit space, and the beautiful Orangerie, the last-built project of revered architect A. Hays Town. Looking to the future—Suzanne Turner Associates and Carbo Landscape Architects’ master plan, finalized in December 2021, proposes a road map for the complex’s next chapter, starting with the welcome center. Reviewing the proposed renderings, at first glance, the expansive box form with
inverted gable roof grabs your attention, providing stark contrast to the greenspace beyond. There’s a familiarity to the forms and shapes ; you feel you’ve seen it before, but not exactly in the same way. The building is “identifiable as a prominent structure, but it still feels like it’s part of the landscape,” remarked Zach Broussard, senior project landscape architect with Carbo Landscape Architecture. In their innovative design, EDR architects took great care to craft a style complementary to other historic buildings on the site, while sending the signal that this one is decidedly different. The design team has incorporated details and cues from the vernacular buildings located on the property, such as the enslaved person’s quarters, dogtrot cottages, and the complex of green-houses—without reverting entirely to the more traditional design seen so often in the architectural vocabulary of the region. As Mark Hash, the senior project architect with EDR explained: “The design of the building is meant to be a simple expression of the current day and not to replicate the past.” Drawing from a rich tradition of architecture in the lower coastal South, EDR incorporated elements into their design that brought sustainability and functionality to the forefront, including deep overhangs, breezeways, and courtyards for solar shading and cooling. These practical design devices reduce solar heat gain and promote cross circulation to reduce energy consumption. While functional in protecting against the intense heat and frequent stormy weather, they are also useful in providing sheltered outdoor spaces for communal gatherings, a testament to South Louisiana’s vibrant, social culture. The shed roof of the interior courtyard drains water for irrigation, which then moves it through a “runnel” to the main entry and out to the bioswale, minimizing the impact of storm water on local infrastructure. “The overall concept of the building and its response to the landscape illustrates how to coexist with water, not fight against it,” said Broussard. // A U G 2 2
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